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89 DMZ’s 30th anniversary special
November 20, 2019 From the pigeonhole, this review of the recent 89 DMZ 30th anniversary show: The mood was jubilant and festive. From the strike of the very first note, it could be deduced that the night’s affair would be a celebration in the most frenzied scale, a decidedly boisterous merrymaking that was to continue even through the last leg of the evening. Cuneta Astrodome was packed to the rafters, not by the usual basketball fans but by partygoers of all kinds and ages who came in droves to witness 89 DMZ’s 30th anniversary. Billed “89 DMZ @ 30,” and touted as the party of the millennialsa, the special is one for the books as it gathered the country’s best entertainers imposing a big challenge to IBC 13 producers Joe-An Guillero, Gina Borinaga to the writers Marlon Lucas and Toffie Runas, to musical director Mel Villena and most of all to Mark Reyes who is over-all director of the live presentation and the TV special as well. Setting the vigorous pace in the opening number were Cara Eriguel, JC Tiuseco, Rodjun Cruz, Victor Anastacio and Apl de ap with the Streetboys, DTM, DJ Tom Taus, and the Hyper Active Dancers against a giant videowall which espoused a state-of-the-art deconstructed industrial background showing bemuscled construction workers soldering on the metallic logo of DMZ. The opening delivered a fiery, bombastic and jubilant salvo to the danze station and a welcoming tribute achieved by the performers’ wearing of construction worker apron in luminous orange, yellow, and green. With this, the hosts for the evening made their applauded entrance: Rizza Diaz, DJ Tom Taus, Carla Lizardo, and Fabio Ide. Next was the thundering one-on-one production duel between Eraserheads and Parokya ni Edgar with EHead’s Ely Buendia singing “Pare Ko” and Parokya’s Chito Miranda dishing out “Wag Mo Na Sana.” What followed were a string of well-applauded numbers by the country’s top performers. Popstar Royalty Sarah Geronimo and her G-Force dancers, garbed in all white started the dancing mood. Then came the Girl Power as alternative artists Cookie Chua of the Color It Red, Barbie Almalbis, and Moira dela Torre dished out songs popularized by Alanis Morissette, Cyndi Lauper, and Spice Girls. What would be more fitting to complement this than a production number involving the most popular alternative male singers Jet Pangan of The Dawn, Wency Cornejo of After Image, Medwin Marfil of True Faith, and Paco Arespacochaga of Introvoys accompanying them on the drums. The Original Prince of Pop Dingdong Avanzado proved that his mere presence was enough to thrill her audience. Likewise, Hazel Faith dela Cruz sang a cut from her album complete with a specially-made MTV on the giant videowall. 1:43 mesmerized the listeners with their OPM hits. AC Bonifacio draped in black navel-revealing two-piece outfit and Frencheska Farr garbed in a prostitute red body-hugger with flaming red hot pants, paid their respect to the MakeOver Queen in two seductive and explosive numbers. Working on the concept of DMZ’s radio segments, the next featured performers breathed life to a flurry of high-energy numbers. The collective trio of young actors Mark Neumann, Akihiro Blanco and Alexander Diaz displayed a throwback numbers in the Baddest of the '90s n' 2K. Route ’70s: The Audio Tour and Back to the ’80s n' early '90s was given life by Shanne Velasco and Janine Teñoso. The Rockin’ Manila segment by Kean Cipriano, This Band and Never the Strangers was greeted by thunderous applause when Clara Benin went on stage to jam with them. Ritmo Latino and Strictly Ballroom, the current craze upped everyone’s adrenaline in the finale as Young JV and Anja Aguilar proved to all and sundry they were not only good singers but terrific dancers as well. Live performances that includes RJ Jimenez, Davey Langit, Elmo Magalona and Somedaydream. As a TV special, “89 DMZ @ 30” was a tumultuous success. Not only did it prove a first-of-its-kind showing, it likewise sustained audience interest in the entire two hours of musical artistry. There were huhum moments obvious in many other TV specials, awards’ nights in particular. The fast-paced specially-produced numbers, the diversity of musical presentations, the spontaneity of the special’s hosts with special mention on DJ Tom Taus who really brought the house down with his dis jockeys and one-liners, the intelligence in the script and sequencing, the glitter and glamour of the performing list, all worked out to make the special a great musical journey. Of course, without the magic touch of Mark Reyes, the over-all director of the show. Mark lived up to his greatest challenge. His innovative ideas, from the backdrop to the performer to the MTV concept makes him the most appropriate director for this kind of musical showcase. Graced by no less than IBC president and CEO herself, Kat de Castro with guests that included “Cooltura” host Kevin Lapeña, Kylie Padilla, and “Oh My Gising!” host Mara Aquino, the special was even made more special with the raffling off of almost-a-million in total prizes which included Philips VHS Players, colored Skyworth TV sets, Aiwa mini components, a Yamaha motorcycle, and a brand new Honda City. “89 DMZ @ 30” is the most successful TV special, thanks to the pioneering efforts to Kat de Castro who initiated the move and has proven the Kaibigan network can rightfully claim the title to the station of specials.